Halloween (title change)
by Twiggy19
Summary: TC wakes up alone and injured on the rooftop of San Antonio Memorial. TC whump. Rated K, just to be safe. Once you read the story, please please please review x
1. Chapter 1

This is my first ever fanfic, PLEASE REVIEW and let me know of any suggestions, where (if) I went wrong anywhere.

This is an original story, based on characters and show that do not belong to me.

Enjoy x

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**Chapter 1**

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Pain.

 _Drip drip drip drip_

PAIN. In his head, his side, his shoulder.

 _Drip drip drip drip_

He was slumped against a wall, leaning heavily into it, aware of the cold cement underneath him, numbing his legs. He could hear cars, horns blaring from the streets below. _Below?_

TC opened his eyes and regretted it immediately. If he thought the pain was bad with his eyes closed, it was absolutely unbearable when he opened them. His vision blurred, he could barely see 2 feet in front of him, black spots dancing, cloudy black closing in. He took a deep breath and tried to take stock of his surroundings, figure out why every movement, even breathing, was making him want to roll over and vomit.

He felt his head, flinching at the touch, and when he brought his hand away it was covered in thick blood.

 _Well that explains that_ he thought. He looked down at his shoulder, blood dripping from a deep laceration, down his arm to the concrete below. A sharp pain drew his attention downwards where crimson red was staining the fabric around a bullet hole, just above his hip bone on his left side. He was sure he must have had a few bruised or even broken ribs, as each inhale of breath sent a new wave of pain through his abdomen and chest. His breath laboured and wheezy.

The sun had long since set, and in its place was a clear, starry night.

He was on a roof.

 _How did I get here?_

He was on the roof of San Antonio Memorial.

 _How the hell did I get up here?_

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 _*to be continued*_


	2. Chapter 2

I'm not really sure where this fic is going, I'm thinking I may jump back and forth in time, just for the first few chapters, so it may be a longer story. I'm happy for anyone to throw ideas at me and please – REVIEW!

*edit* As I'm progressing with the story, I find myself coming back and editing chapters, so everything fits in, so you may want to reread chapters before continuing. Sorry!

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.-2 hours earlier-

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"And here I was hoping we might have a quiet one tonight, you know, maybe even have a little uh, par-tay" Kenny said as he wheeled his patient through the ER doors. Shift had barely started and the staff had been run off their feet as soon as they had clocked on.

"It's Halloween Kenny" TC interjected "our busiest night of the year, at least for the first half of shift, it'll quiet down in a few hours. Something about people getting dressed up and running amok through the streets that causes mayhem and injury. Until bedtime at least"

And as if to prove his point, Jordan came walking through the doors with a man, groin and face bloodied, handcuffed to a gurney, accompanied by 2 police officers. Only this wasn't a costume, this was the real thing. He was yelling obscenities, and struggling against his restraints.

"Jordan you want me to take over for you? You can wait until the next one comes in" TC eyed the prisoner warily. Something didn't feel right, he didn't like the way the man looked around, taking in his surroundings, eyes lingering on exits, hospital staff, _Jordan._

Being a ranger, he relied on his intuition in the field, his ability to read people, their actions, and what was going on around him. It was a trait that made him such a good doctor. Sure TC could be so self assured that most people would accuse him of being cocky. But it was something that had gotten him through many hairy situations, he wasn't going to start ignoring it now.

"What, you think this poor damsel needs big bad TC to protect her?" She asked, giving him a coy smile, "thanks but I'm sure I can handle it. If I do need you I'll be sure to let you know" and with that she took off down the hall to trauma.

"Yo T, how does it feel to get burned?!" TC glared at Kenny, daring him to say something, anything else. He and Jordan had just found their way back to each other. Again. And admittedly he did sometimes forget just how tough she could be, how tough she _was._

 _._

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 _._ -Now-

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TC had been drifting in and out of consciousness. He wasn't sure how long he had been on the roof, but every time he came to, his memory was sharper, recalling the events that had gotten him up here. He slowly and painfully removed his scrubs, trying not to jostle his injured shoulder as he lifted his top above his head and slowly peeled it off his arm. He then removed his belt from his jeans and secured the rolled up fabric over the wound in his side, applying pressure and hopefully stem the bleeding. He knew it (thankfully) didn't hit an artery, as the blood flow had become sluggish and the wound seemed to be coagulating. The laceration in his shoulder would have to be left for now as he didn't think he could bear the thought off taking of his undershirt, as after everything he had just done, he was too exhausted to try, or even care.

He leaned into the wall, and inch by painful inch, made his way onto his feet. Once he was upright, and the world had stopped spinning, he walked, or rather limped, one step at a time to the rooftop door. He had a feeling it would be locked, but had to try anyway. He knew his phone was no longer in his pocket, having already checked, so this was literally his only other way of getting off the damned roof. Finally making his way over to the door, he leaned heavily into the knob, and turned the handle – to find just as he had suspected, that it was locked.

"Well fuck me" he gasped. Walking the short distance to the door had sapped his energy and he collapsed into a heap on the ground. _What the fuck am I going to do now?_ He thought despairingly. He wasn't sure how much longer he could remain conscious, let alone upright, and it was getting colder out here, it seemed, by the minute. He had begun shivering, though his skin felt warm to the touch.

 _Fever._

Which meant infection.

 _You really fucked yourself this time Callaghan._

Well he didn't really do it to himself. It's not like he shot himself, or tried to slice his arm off with a scalpel. Or beat his own head in. No, that was thanks to the psycho who decided that his ER would be the perfect place to stage an escape. On Halloween no less. And TC happened to be the unlucky one who found the dead officers in his hospital room.

All of a sudden the rooftop started spinning around him.

And he vomited.


	3. Chapter 3

1 hour earlier

"Hey T, I know I said I didn't need your help with my patient" she looked down at her patient file, "Lincoln Samuels, but, I could actually use some if you're not too busy" TC looked at Jordan incredulously

"Excuse me? What was that? I'm sure that not even…." He made a show of lifting his wrist to look at the imaginary watch there "…an hour ago you were telling me how capable you were and I quote 'I'm not a damsel who needs saving' "This he said in a high- pitched breathy voice, while waving his hands in the air -

Earning him a well placed slap to the upside of his head.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

"Being a dick. Now will you help me or not?"

Like he had a choice.

"Sure, what's the problem?"

"So Gwen's just brought in a young girl, 17, Hispanic. Her English isn't that great, she's been sexually assaulted. Though I hear and see that she put up quite a fight with her attacker. Who happens to be our friend under police guard,"

"Whaaattt?"

"Yup. Did you see his injuries when he came in? She _bit_ him. He's lucky she didn't rip it off. Which wouldn't have been terrible-"

"I like her already"

"- but someone needs to fix it before he can be transported, and she refuses to be treated by a male doctor."

"Sure thing Jordan, but he's going to have to wait, I need to finish up here first."

"But you don't have a patient."

"But he doesn't know that." And he gave her one of his boyish grins.

"I like the way you think" She pecked him on the cheek, and went to tend to her new patient, a girl she hadn't yet met, but already admired.

He waited by the desk for another 15 minutes before making his way over to the treatment room, down the hall. Because of the scene he had caused when he arrived, and the volatile situation having just been arrested for such a heinous crime, Jordan made the decision to move him to an area away from the other patients.

Scrolling through his phone, he turned the door handle and stepped into the room without looking up.

 _Big mistake_

A thick arm snaked around his neck, putting pressure on his throat, making it hard to breathe. A scalpel held to his neck. The scene before him made him reel in shock. Both officers lay on the floor, blood pooling around them, multiple stab wounds inflicted.

TC's fight or flight response kicked in and he flung his head back, butting Samuels in the nose, bone broke, and blood gushed out, but instead of letting go, he drove the scalpel into TC's shoulder, and drew it 2 inches through his flesh, before throwing him to the floor. TC growled in pain, clutching at his shoulder, blood streaming though his fingers.

"What the hell are you doing man? You just made shit a hell of a lot worse for yourself. Sexual assault is one thing, but you've just killed 2 police officers. You're screwed." The pain in his shoulder had intensified, and he was drawing in shallow breaths, trying to fight the searing pain.

"I'm only screwed if they find me, which, with your help, isn't going to happen. You fix me up and I'll be outta here, and you won't have to worry about any of your little friends, especially that firecracker that brought me in here." He licked his lips and TC fought the urge to launch at the guy, he wanted to wipe the smug look off of his face, to pummel him til he was black and blue, his protectiveness of Jordan in overdrive.

"So what is it that you want me to do exactly? I'm not much use to you with my shoulder like this, and I'm not fixing whatever it is you've got going on in there" he indicated towards his bloodstained groin.

"Just stitch me up, give me some painkillers, or things are going to get ugly" It was then that he pulled the gun from his trousers.

 _Fuck me_

TC was familiar with tending to injuries while nursing his own. It was a part of war. And being TC, he always helped everyone else first, it was just how he is. But he didn't normally have to do it to someone that he so despised, safe to say that he wasn't too careful, and took much delight in his grunts of pain, feeling an odd sense of pride in the fact that they were much louder than his own.

Especially while tending to his man bits.

Once he was done, TC stepped back, and carefully removed his gloves, his shoulder had continued to bleed and the throb of pain emanating from the wound had intensified, making him slightly queasy.

"That's it, you're done, you can leave. There are no pain meds in here so unless you want me to go and get you some, and let everyone see this-" he pointed to his shoulder, "then I'd just forget about it and be gone while you can."

TC had been thinking up different scenarios, hyper aware of anyone about to enter the room, so he would have his chance to do something, _anything_ to get the upper hand, But he had to be careful. Any stuff up on his part and he could be putting Jordan or one of his friends in danger.

"Turn around"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, turn around. Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you in the back."

TC turned slowly, keeping his injured arm left arm close to his side. He immediately felt the cold metal of the gun pressed up against his back.

"We're going for a walk, let's go"

And they slowly made their way out of the room and checking to make sure that no one was around, walked to the stairwell door, which was right next to it.

"Open it, I know your card gives you access"

That it did, and through it they went. There were steps leading both up towards the roof, and down below to the street exit, which opened up to a back alley with dumpsters, though you needed the same card to access either exit.

"That's it, you're in, now you can go" TC felt quite lame stating this, angry at himself for not doing something more. He felt weak. He hated feeling that way.

"First we're going to take a little trip up the stairs. Come on"

They made their way up, TC moving slowly because of his arm, Samuels, because of his injured groin.

Once they arrived at the door to the roof, TC once again opened it and stepped through.

It was then that he heard the _click_ of the safety being released on the gun.

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	4. Chapter 4

This was a much shorter chapter, so apologies for that, but I wanted to post an update and won't get the chance for a few days, so thought I'd put this out to finish off the flash backs and tide you over. It's not much of a cliffhanger anyway considering that you know what happens next :-)

Enjoy reading and , as always , PLEASE REVIEW x

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 _No fucking way_

TC spun around, and with his good arm, grabbed hold of the gun, and pushed it up, and away from himself, and for the second time that night, head butt Samuels', crushing his already broken nose. The two staggered out of the doorway, which resulted in the door slamming shut behind them, momentarily distracting TC.

This earned him a knee, deep in his gut, the air escaped from his lungs with a _whoosh_ and he fell back to the ground, winded.

Samuels swayed on his feet, the hit to his head, making him lose his balance and momentum. For a moment no one moved, then TC noticed the gun on the ground and lunged for it, just as Samuels made a move for TC. The struggle was definitely real, TC got in a few well placed punches, to his ribs and face, they writhed on the floor only metres from the gun. TC started to falter, the pain in his shouljder jarring his senses with every hit, every roll.

His shoulder felt like it was on fire, blood streaming, the wound itself tearing open even more under all strain of the fight.

All of a sudden, he received a hit to his head so hard, black dots danced in his vision. The ringing in his ears was so loud that he wanted to scream, scream at it to stop.

Samuels had smashed him in the side of the head with the gun.

 _The gun._

TC struggled to his feet, Samuels was already up, gun pointed at TC's chest.

"You've been a right pain in my ass doc."

TC tried to put some distance between himself and the gun, but found that he had backed up against the short wall at the edge of the roof.

He had nowhere to go.

Samuels drew his lips back in a cold, gleeful snarl. The blood pouring out of his nose, smeared all over this face made him look like some kind of creature from hell.

He fired the gun.

TC felt white hot pain erupt at his side.

His eyes rolled back.

And everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

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Walking out of her patients room, Jordan was both physically and emotionally spent. The young woman had been beaten, raped and traumatised almost beyond comprehension. Lincoln Samuels was an animal. There was no other way she coujld describe him. What he had put that poor girl through, was an act of evil. Jordan stayed with her while 2 police officers questioned her, a rape kit was needed, and they tracked down her parents.

While she was relieved that she didn't end up having to treat him, a small part of her felt guilty for asking TC to do it. She knew that he had little patience and absolutely no sympathy for men like him, and treating him would have caused TC much anger and resentment.

As tough as he was, TC had a heart of gold, always going above and beyond to help those in need, especially his friends and his family at San Antonio Memorial.

It was why she loved him so much.

One of the reasons anyway. And she had to admit there were quite a few.

Arriving at the front desk, she scanned the area, searching the room for him,

"Has Tee been given a new patient? Kenny? Toph?"

The two men looked at her, Topher spoke first

"No I haven't seen him since he went down the hall to treat your patient"

"That was over an hour ago" Kenny spoke up.

Topher, phone in hand, dialled TC's number and placed the headset to his ear. After 2 rings it cut out. Topher stared at the phone, then looked up at the other 2,

"it cut out"

Without another word, Jordan set off down the hall to see if TC was still in the treatment room, Kenny and Topher fell into step behind her.

The knot in Jordan's stomach had steadily been growing since she first realised that TC hadn't been seen since initially leaving to see Samuels. It should have been a fairly quick job, stitch the patient up, and let the cops deal with him.

 _Where was TC?_

As the neared the treatment room, Kenny placed his hand on Jordnas shoulder,

"Wait here Jordan, ok?"

There was so much blood.

On the floor.

The door.

The walls.

"Oh my God. Tee" She breathed.

"Just wait here, ok? Call security, the cops, I don't know, just call someone"

Kenny slunk close to the wall, Topher next to him. They got to the door and Kenny peered inside,

"He's not here."

Jordan exhaled in relief and they stepped into the room. Only to inhale sharply as he saw the scene that met them.

"Oh my God" she raised her hand to her mouth, an O forming in shock.

"What the hell happened" Topher whispered

"And where is TC?" Kenny finished

Topher checked the pulse of the cops,

"Both dead, looks like they have been for a while, I'd say an hour at least

"So about the time TC would have gotten here then"

Jordan felt sick. This was her fault. She was the one who asked TC to take her patient for her.

"Jordan, no one could have known this was going to happen, ok?"

It was as if Topher was reading her thoughts.

"I sent him here Toph, Oh My God where is he?"

"We're going to find out, did you call security?"

"No…..no I'll do it now…"

"Already doing it, it'll be ok Jordan" Kenny placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he dialled on his phone with the other.

In a matter of minutes the entire hospital was put in lockdown, the thought was that Samuels was still likely to be in there, and if he had TC, then they needed to act fast.

The 3 friends stepped outside and simultaneously noticed the bloodied stairwell door. Noone needed to say anything, Kenny whipped his pass out, unlocked the door and they ran through, alerting the guards in the hallway to follow. The worry they were feeling for TC at that moment put any fear out of their minds, not caring at all about their own safety or what may lay beyond the door.

There was a blood trail leading down, while a heavier one went up.

Again, not needing to communicate out loud, they made their way up the stairs, 2 guards followed the hospital staff, while a couple of officers made their way down, along with Tophers door pass.

Heart racing, blood pounding in her ears , Jordan prayed that they'd get to TC in time. After everything they had been through, his time in the Rangers, PTSD, the loss of their baby, and his recent return from Afghanstan, they were finally getting another chance. What if, just like that, he had been taken away from her?

 _NO_

 _This is TC. The strongest man I know. He's going to be ok._

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It was getting harder to breathe. Each breath that TC took was like a knife digging into his chest. Each inhale, was a drawn out wheeze, and as the minutes ticked by, he noticed and _felt_ that he couldn't take in as much air as he could previously.

 _Collapsed lung._

He could taste metal in his mouth, and when he coughed, he saw that his hand was speckled with blood.

He was still leaning against the wall, and as hard as it was to stay upright, he knew that if he lay down, his lung would likely fill with blood, and he would suffocate faster, drowning in his own blood.

His eyes were rolling back, finding it harder to focus on what was in front of him. He was shivering and he knew that he had a fever. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on.

But he had to hold on.

Jordan.

He needed to hold on for Jordan.

His breaths had turned into sharp gasps, each one sapping a little more energy. His vision was cloudy and he felt like his ears were blocked. Sound was muted, like he needed to pop his ears. He thought he could make out voices, calling his name from the other side of the door. But he couldn't answer. As much as he tried to form the words, there wasn't enough air left in his lungs to push anything out above a whisper.

 _Jordan_

 _Topher_

 _Kenny_

Those were the voices that were calling him. He was barely aware of anything now, but of that he was sure. He heard thumps, and thought he could make out the handle turn, and then, through the fog, the door opened.

His friends, Jordan, they came for him.

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They pushed through the door, each just as eager as the other to get through and see if TC was on the other side.

The site that met them left Topher speechless. His best friend, his brother, was on the ground, propped up against the wall of the roof, a beaten and bloodied mess.

He was taking gasping breaths,wheezy and painful, his body heaving with each. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth, he had one swollen and bruised eye, dried blood caked the side of his head where it looked like it had literally been beaten in, just from appearances his skull looked fractured. A sheen of sweat, visible on his skin, along with the way he was shivering - Topher guessed that TC had afever, an infection stemming from his injuries. He dropped down on his knees beside him, Jordan lunging to his other side, grasping TC's hand.

"Tee, can you hear me? Tee?"

"You guys….found…me.." TC choked out.

His eyes were glistening with tears, he attempted to stroke Jordans face, brush the hair from her eyes, and wipe the tears from her cheeks, but couldn't quite make it there in his state of weakness. She grabbed his hand and brought it to her face, the blood mixing with her tears.

"You stay with me Tee. You hear me? You stay with me"

"Tryn…m….s..so….tir-ed…"

He was having a hard time holding Jordan's gaze. His lids had gotten heavy and keeping his eyes open was sapping the last remnants of his strength.

Kenny snapped into action,

"Topher, palpate, assess his injuries, he needs help and that's what we're going to do. I'm going to go get a board and see if Drew or Scott can come up and help. Tee's priority. Jordan, keep talking to him, keep him awake. "

And with that he took off through the door to do what he could for his friend.

"Ok Tee we're going to lie you on your back ok? Is that ok Tee?"

"L…Lung…." He wheezed, "Fill…ing up….scared to lie….down" they could barely hear him, his ragged wheezes like thunder in Topher and Jordans ears.

"I know man, I know, but we need to see what else is going on in there and you need to save your breath. Just concentrate on breathing for me ok? We're going to lie you on your side to take the pressure off of your lung. Stay with us Tee."

Together Topher and Jordan gently lay TC on the hard ground, Jordan removing her cardigan and placing it underneath his head, like a pillow.

Deep laceration, left shoulder, bleeding sluggish, shit its deep, no arteries hit, though its torn through his muscle. GSW just above his hip, can't tell what damage it's caused, but something is going on in there, he's done a good job of packing it."

Palpating his abdomen, Topher grimaced,

"His ribs, I don't know if there are any that _aren't_ broken, and sounds and looks like his right lung has collapsed, possibly the left as well. Fuck! We gotta get him outta here and into surgery, he's drowning in there. Where the hell is Kenny?!"

Just then, Kenny and Drew charged through the door, board and medical bag between them.

Drew fought the urge to throw up as he looked at his friend

\- and noticed that he had stopped breathing, his lips turning blue, mouth slack and unconscious.

"We need to intubate! NOW!"

** TO be continued**

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Please don't hate me! I really struggled with this chapter and not sure if I"m going to come back to it and tweak it a little. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to follow, mark it as a fave, and especially leave reviews. I'm reading all of them and taking it all on board. Last chapter was extremely short, I did that knowing that I wouldn't have a chance to update for a few days so hopefully this chapter makes up for it, BUT, like I said I'm not entirely happy with it so may update it. Also make sure that you tale the time to reread previous chapters, as the story has evolved and I find myself going back and changing certain things.

Thanks again everyone, hope you enjoyed chapter 5 xx


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm going to start this chapter off by mentioning a few things, the first is that because I liked the characters of Gwen and Ragosa, for all intent and purposes they are still around for this story- I'm just whacky like that I guess! Second, I'm not a doctor, have never studied medicine, definitely do not hold a medical degree - geez I haven't even broken a bone, so I literally know nothing. So, if anything seems far fetched, just roll with it, it is fiction after all :-)**

 **Lastly I had no idea we could update from our phones, which was the reason that my updates were far and few between, but now, winning! Hopefully I'll update more frequently.**

 **Enjoy!**

Kenny and Drew carried the board, while Topher performed chest compressions. Moving down the cramped stairwell was a harrowing task, but they eventually burst through the door, 2 levels down, shouting for Scott.

The desperation in Topher's voice was palpable, everyone was feeling it, but hearing him like this, made everything so much more real, and they worked in overdrive.

Scott came running over, confusion and worry etched in his features,

"What the hell happened?!"

"No time for that! Let's just get him in to surgery and fucking save his life!"

"Topher you're not going anywhere. Wait with Jordan, and Drew and I will work on him. You're too close to this man, take a step back." Scott placed his hand over Tophers, pumping TC's chest, willing him to breathe.

"The hell I will Scott! Just fucking move! We don't have time for this!"

"You're right Toph, we don't have time, but Scott's right too, we can't do this, we need to let Scott help him." Jordan's soft, strained voice, struck a nerve, and he stopped. Head bowed he started shaking, uncontrollable sobs escaping.

Drew quickly took over, and he and Scott took off, yelling commands at the accompanying nurses, desperate to save their friend.

Jordan, Topher and Kenny stood together, watching as their friend, brother and lover disappeared from view, not knowing what was going to happen to him, if they were going to see him alive again.

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"We need to intubate! Get me a laryngoscope, and an endotracheal tube now!"

With practiced precision, Scott inserted the tube into TC's trachea, and started him on a mechanical ventilator.

"Let's start on his lungs, one side is definitely collapsed, punctured by a broken rib, look at the bruising-"

Cutting away TC's shirt, they found that his abdomen was rigid, mottled with bruises, dark purple and throbbing.

"TC, now's the time to show me that stubborn, pigheaded attitude you ass! Fight TC, FIGHT!"

And with that, Scott and Drew set in for one of the most important surgeries they'd ever perform.

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It had been 5 hours. 5 long and painful hours where Jordan had sat, dozed off, paced, cried, and yelled at a police officer when he told her that they had found Samuels unconscious and near death at the bottom of the stairwell, and needed medical attention. Mollie had been with them at that time, and directed the police officer to the ER, where Samuels would be treated accordingly - or not at all- though she didn't say that part out loud.

2 hours in, and the attending nurse had come out to update them, he had coded twice, lost almost a third of his blood volume, developed an infection from his wound and Scott and Drew were currently trying to retrieve the bullet which had fragmented on impact and damaged his spleen. But TC was fighting, and the fact that he was still alive was nothing short of a miracle. She had promised to come back with another update as soon as she could, but hadn't been back since.

While they waited, every single member of their team had come back and forth to see how things were going, but now, the waiting room was teeming with staff as shift had ended.

Jordan sat between Topher and Gwen, holding each of their hands. Kenny, Shannon and Paul sat in chairs opposite, while Michael paced the room. He had walked back and forth so many times, he was wearing a trench in the tiled floor. Though he and TC had gotten off to a rocky start, they had become friends, and the wait was killing him.

Finally, Drew and Scott were walking towards them. Both looked weary and anxious, and Drews eyes were bloodshot and puffy.

"What's happened?" Jordan braced herself, expecting the worst and expecting the floor to open up underneath her.

Drew slumped in the vacant chair, head in his hands,

"He's alive" Scott deadpanned

"I don't even know how, but the son of a bitch is still alive"

He took the seat next to Drew and rubbed his tired eyes.

" You know we lost him twice. His heart was under too much stress, there was so much damage. His right lung was collapsed, we had to drain it, his left was only marginally better by the time we got in there. 6 broken ribs, 2 of them were so bad it was like putting a jigsaw back together which was why the lungs were so bad. The bullet fragmented in entry and bounced around, did a fair bit of damage, mainly to his spleen-"

he took a deep breath and looked around,

"We had to remove it."

There was a collective intake of breath, from everyone on the room.

"The muscle in his shoulder was practically shredded, he used a scalpel, the same one he used to kill the cops. And it definitely wasn't sterilised, he picked up an infection, his fever hit 104 before we could bring it down. He has a fractured skull, but thankfully wasn't too serious, considering his other injuries. Obviously he has a severe concussion, lots and lots of bruises, and the combined blood loss, fuck I don't know. The fever could lead to sepsis, he's not breathing on his own, he's being aided by a ventilator, he's not in a coma, but who knows when he'll wake up.

Jordan let out a strangled whimper, Topher continued to stare at the floor. Obviously they were all doctors, but saying it like this, helped Scott to compartmentalise it, for a minute he forgot that he was talking to his friends and colleagues, but the despair and sheer hopelessness came flooding back with that single sound.

"He's in ICU, room 213, you might want to-"

and before he could finish his sentence, Jordan took off for TC's room.

"You aren't going Toph?" Michael questioned

"I think it's best she has a minute first, let's give her some time with him."

They nodded in agreement, and again, they waited.

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Jordan stopped at the door of room 213, taking in deep breaths, collecting her wits before entering. Unfortunately that still didn't help to prepare her for the sight that met her. TC was laying in the hospital bed. Only it wasn't TC, or at least it wasn't _her_ TC. He was unnaturaly pale, hooked to a ventilator, his chest rising and falling with the mechanical _whoosh_ of the machine, various other tubes were snaking across his body, connected to several other machines, all serving the same end goal- keeping the man she loved alive.

She sat in the hard backed chair, why couldn't they make a hospital chair that was actually comfortable? And took his hand in her own. His face was a myriad of purplish yellow bruises, a white bandage wrapped around head, concealing most of his hair. He was shirtless, not that it made much of a difference as most of his upper body was held firm in tight bandages, and again, the skin that wasn't bandaged was covered in more bruising.

She gently stroked his brow, "T, you're going to get through this ok?" She kissed his hand softly, " We did not decide to have another go at ... us.. just for you to go and die on me ok?" A response came as another _whoosh_ from the ventilator, and the steady beep of the heart monitor next to her, "TC, don't you dare give up! You hear me?! Don't you dare!" And she started sobbing "Oh God Tee this is all my fault I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.." by now her head was buried in the side of his bed, body wracked with uncontrollable sobs. She felt a hand on her shoulder,

"This is not your fault Jordan," Tophers voice was barely above a whisper, "No one could have known this was going to happen. And can you imagine what he'd be doing to himself right now if it were one of us lying there? No one could have seen this coming, no one planned for that bastard to do what he did. And I've heard that it's still touch and go for Samuels, so TC put up a pretty good fight. I heard they had to wait for him to be treated because none of ours were 'capable' of doing it- conflict of interest- as Ragosa put it. They had to call someone from the next shift in early. Don't like his chances though."

"I hope he lives." Jordan stated flatly, "so he can pay for what he's done. Death would be too easy."

"Yeah I guess it probably would..."

And they sat in silence, the room slowly filling with the rest of the night shift, Kenny, Drew, Scott, Michael, Gwen, Paul, Shannon and Mollie, everyone taking a place across the room. Noone would admit how tired they were, but eventually they all fell asleep, in TC's room, waiting for their friend to wake up.

.

.

He was floating

Or was he?

Yes, floating, but, not in the water, and not in the air.

Shit this was confusing.

Where was he?

 _And then you punched him in the face, God I was proud of you. I couldn't believe you had just done that to your CO, but shit he deserved it..._

He knew that voice.

Jordan.

And the he wasn't floating anymore. He was falling.

There was something in his throat, too much pressure in his chest. He couldn't breathe because of the thing in his throat, he tried to swallow which made him gag.

And he started to panic as he opened his eyes and bright light pierced through like a knife, tabbing his brain.

.

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Hope you enjoyed it, please review!


	7. Chapter 7

**So this is possibly the final chapter, however I do feel like I could continue. Let me know if you want me to - if you click on the 'review' option you can leave an anonymous review if you'd like- so I know whether it's worth continuing.**

 **Thanks to everyone who have reviewed so far, they are what make me want to keep going with the story!**

Jordan had fallen asleep around midday. The rest of the night shift staff had gone home after a few hours of keeping vigil at TC's bedside. Everyone had to return to work that night for shift, even though no one felt like it, though Jordan refused to go anywhere til she knew that TC was out of the woods and on his way to recovery.

The first 24 hours after surgery would be critical.

Scott had to remind them that if TC didn't wake up in this time, he may not wake at all, as survival in this time frame was also the hardest, as his body was at its weakest. There was so much risk involved, Jordan wanted to scream, and she knew that Topher and the others felt the same.

And so here they were at 4pm that afternoon, Jordan had been sleeping steadily for 4 hours, 1 hand interlocked with TC's, the other on his forearm, her head resting on the bed - an awkward and uncomfortable position, but she was too tired to notice. Topher was sitting on TC's other side. He hadn't slept as soundly as Jordan, unable to lull into a deep sleep in the hardbacked chair, kept awake by his nightmares. All involving a dead TC.

It was around this time that Jordan was startled awake by movement in her hands, TC's fingers twitching against her own, and the soft grunts of distressed gagging. Her eyes snapped open to find TC struggling against the tube in his mouth, wide eyed and frantic.

Jordan and Topher both leapt to their feet,

"Hey baby, heyyyy, it's ok. We're going to take this out, ok? Tee, you need to calm down. You know how this works, yeah? Squeeze my hand to let me know that you understand me Tee."

She felt a light squeeze of her hand,

"Good boy, on the count of 3, I want you to give me a few small coughs ok? Help me get it out, yeah? Ok, here we go, 1..2..3.." TC coughed weakly as Jordan proceeded to remove the tube.

TC swallowed, his face scrunched up in pain. Topher had left the room as soon as TC was calm enough to let Jordan remove the tube, and returned with a cup of ice chips in his hand.

"Welcome back buddy! Here, have a couple of pieces of ice, it will help with your throat. It's probably not feeling too great at the moment huh?"

TC took the ice gratefully, wincing as he used his sore and swollen throat. He looked around, eyes rolling slightly, struggling to keep them open. His glassy gaze fixed on Topher, and then Jordan,

"You..." he struggled to get the words out, his voice barely a whisper as he worked his raw throat,

"found..." again, he took a painful breath,

"me."

His chest rose and fell with the effort that that small sentence had required.

"Ofcourse we found you Tee, but don't worry about that now ok brother? You just go back to sleep and try and get some rest. God knows you need it."

TC grabbed Tophers arm

"Sa-sam...uels...did they...find...him? He... he... killed those officers" he was gasping now, Jordan grabbed an oxygen mask and placed it gently over his face.

"Everything is fine now Tee, you don't have to worry about Samuels. Or anyone else. Just concentrate on resting, ok? "

His eyelids were getting heavy, and they could see that he was struggling to stay awake.

"Do you think you can stay awake a little longer, just so Topher and I can check you over? We've been waiting for you to wake up." She fingered his lips, gently, careful not to aggravate the swollen cut. It was hard to find a patch of his skin that wasn't littered in cuts and bruises.

" 'm tired" he leaned into her touch, savouring the gentle, warm contact of the woman who had his heart so completely.

"I know babe, I know you are. " she looked over at Topher, who nodded is head in a resigned sigh,

"Ok, get some sleep and we can do it later, just don't keep us waiting too long ok? I like seeing those big brown eyes of yours."

He gave her a lopsided smile, "Love... you guys.." and drifted off to sleep again.

Jordan gave Topher a crooked smile

"I'm not sure what I'm worried about more, the fact that he couldn't stay awake, or him admitting that he loved you."

And for the first time in over a day, they both smiled genuine smiles,a tiny bit of the weight on their shoulders had lifted.

.

.

TC dreamed. They were muddled dreams, of Jordan, his friends, and Samuels. It was like a movie playing over and over, where he kept seeing Samuels face, felt the scalpel driving through his flesh, and the bullet ripping into his side. They say you don't feel pain in your dreams, but TC felt it, fiery and raw. He tried to scream but no sound was coming out. He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them he was blinded by the bright sun.

The searing heat was suffocating, and he was sweating profusely. He was in the desert.

Thad was with him.

Thad.

"Hey Tee."

Thad looked at TC, and a volley of bullets slammed into his chest.

TC screamed for his brother "Nnnooooooo!"

And snapped to conscious, a dizzying wave of pain taking over his body, much more vivid than the nightmare he just woke from. He was gasping for air, tears streaming down his face as he saw Thad dying all over again.

"Woah buddy calm down! TC! Look at me Tee, it's Drew, you need to calm down, it was just a dream man. Come on, breathe like me-"

Drew preceded to take exaggerated breaths in and out, in the hope that TC would mimic him.

He grabbed TC's hand and placed it on his chest,

"Come on Tee, just like me, slow, deep breaths."

It seemed to work as TC regained some iota of control, calming down and making eye contact with Drew.

"That's good man, real good. You're ok. Do you know where you are?"

"The hospital. San Antonio...Memorial."

"Ok, that's good, and do you know what day it is?"

"Halloween? So... Tuesday?"

"Well it was Tuesday, but now it's Thursday morning. You've been in and out since yesterday"

2 days. TC lost almost 2 days.

"Do you know what my name is?"

"Ofcourse I know your name Drew... can we... stop with all the questions? I didn't hit my... head... that hard."

TC took in a painful breath and winced,

"Well actually, you did. You have a fractured skull. Among other things."

TC slowly raised his hand to the bandage covering his head.

"I bet you have a killer headache?"

"A little, I guess. Where's Jordan? And Topher? I remember... I remember them...being here."

"Topher went home to shower and get a bit of sleep. Janet cake down here and practically had to drag him out. He asked me to call him if anything changed. Jordan is right over there- asleep, finally." TC slowly turned his head and saw her, curled up in the plastic hospital chair, sleeping peacefully.

 _She's beautiful_

He thought to himself, completely and totally lost in the beauty of the woman before him.

"She was scared to death Tee. We all were. We didn't know if you were going to make it."

"I didn't mean-"

"Oh my god Tee, I'm not blaming you. It's not your fault that sicko did what he did. I'm just telling you, just want you to know... I don't know. Don't do that again ok?"

TC suppressed a grin,

"I'll.. try. Why is it.. so hard to breathe?"

Drew could see he was getting agitated, and placed the oxygen mask hanging by the bed, back over TC's face.

"You're lungs suffered massive trauma. But they're on the mend. You're on the mend. You just gotta take it easy for a little while."

They both knew taking it easy was not in TC's nature, but left it unspoken.

They heard a sigh from the corner of the room, where Jordan started to stir into wakefulness. Bleary-eyed she looked up at TC, seeing him awake she leapt out of her chair and was immediately alert

"TC you're awake! How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine Jordan." He gave her a small smile.

Drew took a step back. "I'm going to leave you to alone for while, gonna give Toph and the others a call to let them know how you're doing. Everyone's been hanging around, waiting for you to wake up." He pumped TC's fist and made his exit, hands in his pocket, smiling at his 2 friends.

Jordan took a seat next to him, holding his hand.

"I love you so much TC. So much. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't wake up. I was so scared."

TC took Jordans hand, giving it a firm kiss, "I love you too. I'm not going anywhere."

*So what do you think? Keep going? Yes or no?

Review !


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks so much everyone for your kind reviews, I will attempt to write from different POV's, and I have decided that I'm going to continue with the story *yay!*

In saying that, anything is possible, so please continue to review and feel free to throw ideas at me. I feel like I could probably arc this into a second story so who knows how long this could go for?!

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter xx

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TC was bored.

It had only been 2 days since he woke up to the shock and discomfort of having the tube down his throat, and he already wanted out. He wasn't made to sit (or in this case, lie) and do nothing. He also hated being fussed over. And the stupid nasal cannula was just a hindrance. And he had let anyone who bothered to listen, know. He had already been chastised multiple times for removing it, the most recent, Jordan threatened him with no bedroom action.

Ever.

Like, ever again.

When he told her she was bluffing, she told him to test that theory.

He wasn't game enough.

The pain from his injuries was manageable. Or at least that was what he was trying to tell himself, as well as his friends. Whenever someone asked how he was feeling, his answer was always "fine", thinking that "great" sounded too eager and far from the truth.

In reality, TC felt like shit and was struggling to hide it. The pain in his shoulder would flare up each time he adjusted himself. Not being one to lie still, he moved (or at least attempted to) a lot. The bullet wound was also quite sore, and itchy. Fuck it was itchy, and it was slowly driving him crazy. He had a constant headache, the throb intensifying each time someone spoke, each time _he_ spoke. Moving hurt. Breathing hurt, his chest felt like he had heavy weights stacked on it, and someone was driving a knife into his lungs.

Simultaneously.

While under water.

Everything hurt.

Like a bitch.

An absolute fucking bitch.

And he was over it.

He refused the pain medication that they were offering. He didn't like how morphine compromised his lucidity. He liked to be of sound mind, and hated the cloudy fog that it left him in, when he was under the influence of it. To have clarity, well, he'd sacrifice the pain to have that.

He also still had a fever, the infection from his shoulder persisting in adding to his general shitty feeling, and he hoped that it would subside sooner rather than later.

Like right now thank you.

So here he was, a day after waking up, frustrated to no end, and bored. He wanted to be discharged, but when he mentioned it, they looked at him like he was crazy, which he took to mean no.

This only added to his sour mood.

The logical, doctor part of his brain knew that it made sense, if it were any other day, and it was his patient in the same boat, he knew he wouldn't be discharging them for at least a week. He was aware of the extent of his injuries, the trauma his body had endured and the sheer miracle that he was even still alive. But he wasn't his patient, and at the moment he definitely wasn't playing doctor. He was just tired and grumpy and sick of being in hospital.

And it had only been 48, no, 48.5 hours.

He needed to get out.

.

.

Kenny was starting to sound like a broken record, and his patience was wearing a little thin,

"TC you know we can't do that, Jordan would kill us." He and Drew had stopped by to visit TC, and since they had arrived, TC kept insisting that they consider discharging him, 3 days after waking up from surgery.

"Come on guys, you know she's planning on taking time off once I'm home anyway. Why can't you ask Topher to give her the leave a few days early, and just sign me out now. What's the difference if I'm here or at home?"

"Come on man, you're in no shape to be going anywhere. You need to give yourself time to heal, you know that bro." Kenny had been quiet up to now, but he'd be damned if he let his friend jeopardise his health like this. Just looking at TC made him feel nauseous, so he couldn't even imagine how he must be feeling.

TC looked at the both of them with an obstinate glare

"I thought you were my friends"

"Come on man, don't be like that. You know Drew and I would have you out of here in a second if we thought it would help you, but leaving before you're ready, you know that's not going to help."

"And Jordan would kill us."

"And Jordan would _kill_ us." Kenny repeated Drew's words comically.

TC slumped back in his bed, arguing with his 2 mates seemed to sap his strength and he was shaky and pale.

Kenny's heart thumped in his chest, "Woah you ok man? You don't look so good."

"I'm _fine_." TC responded though gritted teeth.

Looking at his watch, Drew made a hasty retreat, realising that he was late picking up Brianna. He reminded Kenny to keep an eye on TC's vitals, and left.

Kenny leant back in his chair, interlocking his hands and placing them behind his head.

"Tee, no one wants to see you out of here as much as me. Trust me. You still have the foley-"

TC looked at Kenny with murder in eyes. It was yet another instrument reminding TC that he was helpless, and he hated it. The fact that he couldn't even go to the bathroom on his own was embarrassing beyond imagination.

"- annnd I won't mention anything else. OK? But, think about it, at least get rid of the foley and have a proper meal before you think about planning your big escape."

"Great, go call me a nurse and let's get rid of it then."

"That wasn't what I meant Tee,"

"Nope, you're right, no time like right now to get it going. If I need to do this to prove that I'm fine to be discharged, let's do this."

And that's what Jordan walked in on when she came to visit, shortly after.

"What the hell is going on Kenny? I thought you said you were coming to see how was, to keep an eye on him? I don't think he's ready for that yet"

"Jordan, I tried, but you know what he's like. He's going crazy, and, the nurses all love him. He's very persuasive."

"And I'm not?"

"You are, but you weren't here!" Kenny threw his arms up in exasperation, "I figured it wouldn't hurt if he had least lost the foley and he started moving about, and this will help with his mood. You know he hates having to depend on people. I don't like seeing him like this."

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just worried about him. He's so damn stubborn."

"Tell me you're not just realising this now," Kenny put his arm around her in a comforting embrace, giving her a smirk.

"Shut up Kenny"

But she couldn't help giving a light laugh.

Once the nurses were finished removing the foley, Jordan and Kenny entered the room. TC looked pained, the foley removal wasn't a very pleasant procedure and TC was feeling drained as a result.

"How are you feeling babe?"

"Fine." Kenny and TC responded at the same time

"Shut up Kenny."

"Geez, if you keep talking to me like that Tee I'm going to have to leave, or ask them to put it back in.."

"The nurses don't like you Kenny, me on the other hand, I make them swoon."

Hi breath hitched on the last word and he closed his eyes in a small look of defeat.

"If you didn't look so sad and needy right now, I might actually be jealous babe. But I'll let it go for the time being." Jordan took a seat next to her partner and took his hand in hers.

"I know that you're frustrated and I totally get it. I want you home with me too. But, you can't do anything to hinder your progress. We need you back downstairs, back at work, helping people. You can't do that if you don't get better."

"Listen to her Tee, you know she's making sense." Kenny stood at the foot of TC's bed, leaning on the end.

"Ok. Alright. I'll give it a couple more days." Tc sighed in resignation, and a look of defeat on his face. He knew when he was losing an argument (especially with Jordan) and when to back down. Albeit momentarily.

The three of them had continued to sit together, updating TC on what had been happening downstairs in the ER in his absence, as well as what was happening with Lincoln Samuels. After Kenny, Jordan and Topher had run upstairs to find TC. The officers who went down, found Samuels passed out in a heap at the bottom of the stairwell. His fight with TC had opened up the wound in his groin, and the blood loss, together with a concussion from TC head butting him – twice- had caused him to lose his footing and fall the rest of the way down the stairs, breaking a few bones and knocking him unconscious, as he attempted his escape. A fact that left many of the night shift, especially Jordan, very satisfied, and proud. He was now under police guard, in another wing of the hospital, as soon as he was well enough he'd be taken to prison, awaiting trial.

During this time, TC had regained some of his colour and was looking a little better than he had previously, so Kenny stood,

"I'm going to get going, give you 2 some time alone, do you need anything before I leave, Tee?"

Looking sheepish, TC responded,

"I actually need to use the bathroom. Would you mind helping me out of bed, but then I'll be fine to go the rest of the way on my own. I think I just need help getting up."

He slowly moved the sheets off his lower body, with his good arm, and carefully moved each leg across the bed, to rest on the floor. The small movement left him panting a little, and he had a masked look of pain etched across his features, as he placed his hand over the wound in his side, which wasn't missed by either Kenny or Jordan.

"I just jostled it a little, I'm good."

Kenny, was standing by TC, while Jordan moved to his other side, to also offer her assistance.

"Let me go and get you a wheelchair."

"NO, no chair. I don't need a wheelchair to get me to the bathroom Jordan. I just need help getting up, that's all, ok?"

"Let's just get you up and see how you're doing with being vertical first, yeah?" Kenny placed his right hand under TC's elbow, and with his left, placed a firm hold across TC's back. "On the count of 3, we'll take it slow, ok?"

Jordan nodded and held TC's other hand in hers, while supporting his elbow with the other.

"One.. Two.. Three.."

.

.

.

They all worked together to lift him to a standing position. TC stood still, leaning heavily on Jordan and Kenny as he waited for the room to stop spinning. Being in bed for the last couple of days had taken its toll and he was having trouble adjusting to being upright. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, counting to 3 for each inhale and exhale.

"Tee, you don't look so great. I'll go get you a chair."

He looked at his girlfriend, "Jordan, I'm fine."

"You keep saying that but it's getting harder to take you seriously."

"I just need a minute. Please. I _need_ to do this."

"Fine, fine.." He knew Jordan was probably seething right now, but he didn't care. It was bad enough that he needed the help to do something as simple as getting out of bed, he wouldn't be humiliated by further by letting them wipe his arse for him too.

Once he felt like he culled handle standing without his friends support, he told them to let go,

"You sure, man?"

"Yes Kenny, I'm sure!" And yanked his hands form both of their grasps, simultaneously.

Which turned out to be a the wrong thing to do.

"Oh shit, Tee!"

Without Kenny and Jordan holding him up, and the force he used to extricate himself from their grip, TC felt himself losing clarity, his body not able to support his weight completely, without help. His knees buckled, and he began his descent, but felt a strong pair of hands clutch his uninjured arm and side, and slowly lowered him back onto his bed.

He kept his head bowed with his eyes closed, waiting to get his bearings again.

"Tee, you ok?" Kenny placed his hand lightly on TC's back, TC knew that Kenny was afraid that he was going to snap at them again.

 _They're just trying to help. I can't do this on my own. Fucking obvious after that._

"Tee?" Kenny repeated.

"Yeah...yeah.. I guess I'm not... that great. Maybe I do need help." He looked up at Kenny and Jordan, they were giving him encouraging smiles,

"Can you help me, please?"

*End Chapter*


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